New OnePlus phone due before Christmas, about design not specs

OnePlus is definitely releasing a new phone this year. It looks like the handset won't be all about power like its predecessors though, with a focus more on design.

The new OnePlus phone, possibly called Mini, was confirmed by the company's co-found Carl Pei who said it would arrive before Christmas. Now new details have been revealed by India GM, Vikas Agarwal, who told the Economic Times that this would be a global release but mainly aimed at India.

As a developing markets handset the new OnePlus is expected to be more affordable than previous models. It is reported to be priced between $180 and $300. This should be a mid-range handset.

While specs for the phone weren't revealed, Carl Pei has said this handset would be for, "a different type of audience, perhaps for those who appreciate design over specs."

The OnePlus Mini has already leaked, revealing potential specs. Whether these two are the same handset is not clear. The Mini is expected to come with a 1080p display of unknown size, a 2.2GHz octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM plus 32GB of storage and a 13-megapixel camera. Plus it should be running Android 5.1.1, despite 6.0 Marshmallow expected to be out by then.

These aren't flagship specs but they're pretty decent, perhaps this is what OnePlus considers mid-range? We'll likely have to wait until near Christmas to find out.